Trump hid in catering cart, left Turkey on a secret military flight amid assassination threat from Iran: Report

IN a rare clandestine mission, US President Donald Trump left Turkiye on 8 July aboard an alternate military aircraft, after attending a NATO summit in Ankara. He was first seen boarding Air Force One, but was secretly transferred to a smaller Air Force C-32A via an airport catering truck, while the White House maintained he was on the presidential jet, which served as a decoy.

The Washington Post reported the development on Monday (local time), adding that the mission was carried out amid an assassination threat from Iran. The threat emerged as hostilities between Washington and Tehran resumed last month, only weeks after the two sides had signed an interim ceasefire agreement in June.

Citing sources familiar with the operation, the Post said the mission had not been previously disclosed and was unknown even to some White House officials. Journalists covering the trip also believed they were travelling on the same aircraft as Trump, unaware that he had been moved to a different plane.

Here's how Trump flew on a secret military flight

In Turkey's capital, Ankara, before cameras, Trump boarded Air Force One. However, minutes later, he was secretly transferred to a smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A, using an airport catering truck that is usually used to load meals and other supplies before flights.

To avoid being spotted by people not involved in the operation, Trump and several aides reportedly used an airport catering truck to leave the plane. The vehicle was raised to the aircraft door using hydraulic equipment and positioned on the side opposite Air Force One's main entrance, according to a US official and other corroborating material.

According to US officials, Air Force One became a "decoy", with only media personnel and some White House staff aboard the jet.

Images captured by news media at the Turkish airport showed a staircase on one side of Air Force One and the catering truck on the other, with the container being elevated to the plane's level. The video showed the president arriving in a limousine, climbing the staircase and waving towards the tarmac.

Minutes later, as the White House press corps boarded the jet, a man in a suit was seen entering the catering truck's cab. The container was lowered into the vehicle's bed, after which the truck drove away from Air Force One and headed towards the smaller C-32A parked nearby, as shown in the video. The truck remained out of view for about 40 seconds as the camera panned away, briefly obstructed by the C-32A's engines.

However, it remained unclear how Trump moved from the C-32A to Air Force One after landing. He appeared on television and exited the jet via the external stairs at around 10:56 pm.

On 8 July, the administration claimed that Trump left Turkey aboard the former Air Force One. The US president announced on social media that he would use the "former Air Force One" instead of the aircraft that had flown him to Turkey, a newer Boeing 747-8 gifted to the US by Qatar.

Questions have been raised about the security of the Qatar-provided aircraft, and Trump said last month, following the trip, that it would undergo additional upgrades.

A similar operation was carried out in 2000, when then-President Bill Clinton flew into Pakistan aboard an unmarked executive jet while Air Force One was sent ahead as a decoy.

Calls for Trump's killing grew during Supreme Leader's funeral

Last month, when Iran buried its slain former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Reza shrine, months after he was assassinated on the first day of US-Israeli strikes in February, calls for Trump's killing soared.

Following the warnings, Trump issued a warning against the Islamic Republic and said, "1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!"

He added, “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for one year, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”

Trump added that he had already left instructions for a major military response in case Tehran succeeded in assassinating him.